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Obituaries

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Mark Moran / The Citizens' Voice
Brian L. Pavia is led to his preliminary hearing Wednesday in Swoyersville. Pavia will stand trial for the shooting death of John Dulsky, which occurred Dec. 17 in Forty Fort.

A Plains Township man who claimed self-defense after fatally shooting a fellow laborer during a fight over a snowblower will stand trial on an open count of criminal homicide, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Brian L. Pavia, 39, shot John Dulsky in the neck and back on Dec. 17 after he claimed Dulsky punched him in the face as they fought near the Limongelli Law Office in Forty Fort.

Pavia, of 103 Union St., Plains Township, called 911 about 6:50 p.m., saying he shot someone after being attacked. Prosecutors played a recording of the call at Pavia's preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Pavia's attorney, Frank Nocito, asked Magisterial District Judge David A. Barilla to dismiss the homicide charge in place of manslaughter, arguing that the shooting wasn't premeditated and Pavia was defending himself.

Investigators recovered a loaded black .38 Smith & Wesson pistol from the dashboard of Pavia's pickup and two spent shell casings from the snow, according to the affidavit. An autopsy showed Dulsky sustained two gunshots - one to the left side of the neck and one to the lower back.

Nocito argued in court Wednesday that Pavia made the call himself to police and that the 911 recording negated premeditation. Nocito said Pavia was in a "panicky, emotional state" and that Pavia sounded more "concerned" than anything else while he was on the phone with 911.

He also said Pavia came to pick up the snowblower with a car full of groceries, which he said suggested Pavia had every intention of returning home that night.

"Long before groceries can thaw, someone can form the thought to kill someone else," Assistant District Attorney Jarrett Ferentino argued.

Pavia is jailed without bail at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. If convicted of first-degree homicide, he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Pavia and Dulsky men were laborers contracted by Limongelli Law Office, Forty Fort police Chief Daniel Hunsinger said. Dulsky, 38, of 23 E. Liberty St., Hanover Township, was working on a building at the site, and Pavia had gone to the location to pick up a snowblower he needed for another job, Hunsinger said.

Pavia claimed he did not know Dulsky was there, police said.

The men had a history of disputes, and police were investigating a report that Pavia had filed a harassment complaint against Dulsky in the Back Mountain, Hunsinger said.

"There have been incidents in the past where they've argued, and they just didn't get along," Hunsinger said, adding that Pavia apparently took the dispute too far. The men have had "numerous run-ins" in the past, according to an affidavit filed with the charge against Pavia.

Court records showed Dulsky was named as a defendant in 11 criminal cases, including eight in Luzerne County. He was most recently convicted of harassment in Lackawanna County in July and sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Pavia, in the call to 911 on Dec. 17, said Dulsky beat him so severely he was "bleeding like a pig." Pavia claimed Dulsky broke his nose. Doctors at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital later examined Pavia and found his nose was not broken and that, aside from wounds, he had no other injuries.

Pac asked Pavia to check on Dulsky, but Pavia said, "No, I'm afraid."

Pac also asked whether Pavia had a license to carry a firearm. He told her he did. Police confirmed Pavia was properly licensed.

"Thank God," Pavia said. "This guy would have hurt me."

Pac then asked where the gun was, and Pavia told her he had it on his lap. She told him to put it down and put his hands up in the air for the police.

Forty Fort Police Officer Brian Casella said when he arrived Pavia appeared panicked, with blood dripping from his nose, as he stood in front of his white Ford pickup truck.

Casella said Pavia appeared "upset" and told him that he had shot Dusky in self-defense. Pavia made no attempts to flee the scene or resist when he was arrested, Casella said.

"I can't believe this was all over a snowblower," Pavia said, according to Casella.

jseibel@citizensvoice.com,

570-821-2110, @cvseibel

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